10 dicas para reembolsar empréstimos estudantis

Hoje em dia é difícil passar pela faculdade sem pedir dinheiro emprestado. O aumento das mensalidades, os diplomas que demoram mais para serem concluídos e a alta taxa de desemprego para os jovens adultos estão conspirando para aumentar nossa dívida coletiva da faculdade. Se sua dívida está começando a parecer um pedregulho , você rola uma montanha todos os dias apenas para tê-la rolar de volta sobre você pela manhã, feche os olhos e respire fundo. Não podemos fazer essa pedra parar de rolar, mas talvez possamos dar algumas dicas - em ordem mais ou menos cronológica - para reduzi-la um pouco.

Algumas dessas dicas são coisas que você pode fazer antes de se formar. Pagar - e prestar muita atenção - aos seus empréstimos estudantis a partir do momento em que você os contrata pode ajudá-lo a evitar taxas atrasadas, aumentos de juros e danos à sua classificação de crédito, o que pode ajudar a manter seus pagamentos acessíveis.

Mais dicas de finanças

Precisa de mais dicas para pagar empréstimos estudantis? Visite o College Tax Whiz da TaxAct .

1. Conheça seus empréstimos e pagamentos
2. Comece a pagar agora
3. Manter contato
4. Busca de emprego
5. Faça um orçamento e economize
6. Enfrente o empréstimo com juros mais altos
7. Pague mais, pague com frequência
8. Faça a dedução
9. Reembolso -- ou Não -- Opções
10. Não padrão

Acompanhe os valores dos seus empréstimos e saiba quais serão seus pagamentos mensais enquanto você ainda estiver na faculdade. É a única maneira de planejar como você pagará a dívida e evitará surpresas desagradáveis ​​sobre o quanto você deve. Emprestar apenas o dinheiro necessário para mensalidades e taxas. Lembre-se, este não é um fundo de festa ilimitado para ser gasto como quiser. Você está fazendo empréstimos que devem ser pagos. Não empreste o máximo só porque você pode.

Depois de se formar, acompanhe seus credores, valores de empréstimo, valores de pagamento mensal e período de tempo até o pagamento de todos os seus empréstimos. Todos os seus empréstimos do governo podem ser rastreados no site do National Student Loan Data System [fonte: NSLDS ]. Acompanhar seus pagamentos, não apenas os valores do empréstimo, também é importante, especialmente se você estiver fazendo pagamentos adicionais ou pagando principal adicional a cada mês. Você quer ter certeza de que o dinheiro está alocado corretamente para que você possa ver os saldos dos empréstimos caírem mais rapidamente.

Todos os empréstimos estudantis têm períodos de carência - o tempo entre o momento em que você faz um empréstimo e o momento em que deve começar a pagá-lo - que variam de acordo com o empréstimo. Para empréstimos do governo, você geralmente tem de seis a nove meses após a formatura antes de fazer um pagamento.

Enquanto isso, suponha que você tenha um emprego na faculdade, consiga um emprego imediatamente após a faculdade ou ganhe um maço de dinheiro. Não há problema em fazer pagamentos antes do término do período de carência. Mesmo que você não possa pagar integralmente ou fazer um pagamento todo mês, você pode pagar os juros, que, dependendo do seu empréstimo, podem começar a acumular antes de você terminar a escola.

Além disso, adquirir o hábito de fazer pagamentos o mais rápido possível significa que você estará muito mais à frente assim que o período de pagamento do empréstimo começar. Se você faz pagamentos antecipados ou não, saiba qual é o período de carência para cada empréstimo que você tem. Você não quer perder o primeiro pagamento obrigatório.

Once you graduate from college, or if you move during the loan repayment period, let your lenders know your new address, phone number and e-mail as soon as possible. Most loan information will be e-mailed to you, but it's a good idea to be sure lenders have up-to-date contacts so you don't miss anything important. Open any e-mails or letters you get from lenders right away.

Missing payments because you missed the bill is not an excuse and will cost you money. If you're having trouble making loan payments, don't ignore requests from lenders for payment. Contact the lender about your problems and learn what your options are.

While you're still in school, consider getting a job -- if only part-time or during summers. You'll be able to save money, pay a portion of your own way through college -- which means fewer student loans -- and begin to pay back the loans you already have.

College is also a good time to look seriously at the types of careers you're interested in or will be qualified for with your degree. Ask yourself these questions, related to your student loans:

If you don't like the answers, the time to make changes is now, because once you've graduated from college, the clock is ticking on the grace period for your student loans.

Create a budget while you're in college. Start with fixed expenses like rent, utilities and phone, then add things that might be more flexible, like food, gas, fun and savings -- not necessarily in that order. If you can, add the student loan to your budget and begin to pay it down.

Look for ways to save or see if you can get more hours at work. If you earn extra money , put it toward your loan. The faster you can pay down the principal, the less you'll have to pay in interest over the life of the loan. If you don't have experience with budgets, look online. There are many templates to be found.

When you have the money to pay off or pay down one of your loans ahead of time, choose the one with the highest interest rate . It's costing you more every month than loans with lower rates. If you have both government and private loans, pay off the private loans first. They often have higher rates and less flexible repayment options than government loans.

Get familiar with your loan documents. Some lenders -- though not most -- charge a penalty for paying loans off early. And many lenders require you to request that extra payments be put toward the principal, which will reduce your overall interest payments. With some loans, extra funds are automatically put toward future payments unless specified otherwise.

Set up auto-debit to have payments made automatically from your checking account on the days you receive a paycheck. Enrolling in auto-debit will often reduce your interest rate by 0.25 percent, saving you money that way as well. If you have a job, are paid biweekly (every other week) and make loan payments biweekly, you end up making an extra payment every year, saving money on interest in the long term.

Consider putting a raise , a bonus, your birthday cash or an inheritance toward your student loan as well to help reduce your principal, which will in turn reduce your interest. You'll be one more step closer to financial independence.

Read your loan documents carefully. You may need to include a written request that the extra payments be put toward the principal, not toward future payments. You'll also want to check with the lender to be sure there are no limits on payment frequency.

You may be able to deduct the interest on your student loans from your federal income taxes. To be eligible for the deduction , the IRS says you must meet some requirements. And because the IRS has a particular way of phrasing things, we'll just pass along those requirements here in their own words [source: IRS]:

Como as leis tributárias mudam com frequência, consulte um contador, especialista em preparação de impostos ou o IRS para determinar se você é elegível para a dedução.

If you run into problems and have trouble paying back your loan, contact your lenders. Programs are available to help keep you from defaulting. Here are a few of the more common ones.

A consolidation loan bundles your student loans into one loan, with one monthly payment and one interest rate. While it is possible to consolidate both government and private loans, it's not generally a good idea to consolidate government loans into a private loan. When you do, you give up access to government programs -- deferment or forgiveness -- you might need if you get into financial trouble down the road.

Loan deferment , which means payments are halted for a period of time, may be granted for specific reasons. For example, you can apply for an unemployment deferment, which stops payments until you have a job. But beware: Interest may continue to accrue, meaning the longer you defer, the more money you'll owe.

When you can't make payments but don't qualify for a deferment, you may be able to receive a forbearance, which would allow you to make reduced or no payments for up to 12 months. Interest will accrue during the period, so if you can make any payments at all, you'll be better off in the long run.

Forgiveness of government loans is sometimes possible if you work in certain fields, work for certain government or nonprofit agencies or serve with AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps. Get in touch with your lenders for more information about these options.

Loan default -- which is what can happen if you don't make loan payments for a set number of months -- is a serious problem that can haunt you for the rest of your life. It can keep you from getting a loan to buy house. It can increase the interest rate you must pay on car loans and credit cards forever, which means you end up paying much, much more for things that should have cost you less. It can also make it harder for you to rent an apartment, sign up for utilities or even get a phone plan.

Default times vary depending on loan types. If you're having trouble making your payments, take a look at your loan documents to see how many months you can miss before you're in default. Before that happens, contact your lenders about deferment, forbearance or consolidation options.

Author's Note: 10 Tips for Repaying Student Loans

Student loans aren't the only debt that if ignored can wreck your life and credit. Defaulting on credit card debt, mortgages or car loans will also have ramifications that might follow you around forever. If I could go back and tell my 25-year-old self one thing about money, it would be to start saving now. Saving money is hard -- if it wasn't, there wouldn't be so many how-to books and articles written about it -- and I've not been as good about it as I should have been. Save money every month, I'd tell myself, even if it's only a little bit. Save for the long-term and short-term. It will offer peace of mind in middle age and can keep you from worrying about defaulting or running behind on credit cards, rent or mortgage, car loans or student loans.

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